Fake Profiles: <insert name*>, I hardly knew ye

Recently someone asked me to connect via LinkedIn and as I looked over his experience, I was amazed to learn that he had worked for over 7 years at the same non-profit I work for (American Water Works Association). It seems he was our "Director Of Water Resource", but it was strange that I’d never seen him at AWWA's office or our holiday parties, especially because he's a very snappy dresser according to his profile picture.

Anyway, laughs were had by all in my group, and someone challenged us to dress better as this person <name unknown*> was clearly showing us up with his double-breasted suit. I reported the account to LinkedIn, but when I checked later, his profile now showed he has been an Attorney with the California Department of Water Resources for the last seven years.

Dang it - he was gone before we even got to work together, and honestly there's a lot of water resource(s) work to do!

All of this just goes to show that there are a lot of fake things on the internet, including LinkedIn. Sad, but if you think you spot a fake, LinkedIn has procedures to report them. I'll be following my former colleague to see if his profile remains. #AWWA

https://www.dhirubhai.net/help/linkedin/answer/61664/report-fake-profiles?lang=en

* After I posted this article, I think I tracked down the actual person who the fake person started with - they were a US Marine and died in the '60s. I originally had that person's name in the title but I've taken it down out of respect if that's actually who the imposter started with. Man, that's really low.